Into the Family
by DbKiT
Summary: RJ and his new family have trouble accepting someone else.
1. The usual life

The Fall season gently eased its way past the summer afternoon heat to usher in the cool autumn midday breeze. Beautiful green leaves faded into molted brown,yellow, and orange. They snapped from their life support and dizzied down to rest on the earth, to snap and crackle under the feet of whoever stepped upon them. A small set of paws eased calmly over the snapping leaves at a steady lope. Leaving the lonely freeway roadside that dominated the land scape and heading into the densely packed trees that lined it. Steady but alert, it did not take long for the raccoon to find the desired path through the woods and into the human residential area where the trees began to greatly thin out.

Forrest ended and up kept lawns began. Hedges sprung up from the ground like unnatural flora fortress walls, their vibrant green still showing off even in this time where plants usually die. The raccoon crept silently over the threshold of natural forrest into the neatly clipped, well manicured, perfectly paved streets of El Rancho Camelot Estates. The suburbia was in its lazy days. There was activity out in the open but not enough to concern the raccoon. With no bad smells in the air to disturb any beast, the raccoon settled down in the interior of a thick yet well manicured lawn bush to wait till darkness came.

"Thats very nice, Hammy well- why don't you try taking more time remembering your surroundings. That way you won't forget where you hide your nuts as much." A bedraggled looking red squirrel thumped his footpaw on the ground impatiently, he twitched habitually and his eyes darted every which way.

"But its AUTUMN already! If I can't find my nuts soon I'll starve by winter!" Hammy the squirrel did a little dance which accented his hyper active voice. Oh how urgently he needed to find his beloved nuts! Verne sighed, this was about the fifth time today out of the hundreds of times in the past that Hammy had barreled over him with complaints about his lost nuts. It was a shame since he was the best gatherer of any natural food avaliable but he always forgot where he put it. "Take your time, Hammy. Look more thourougly and you are bound to find those nuts sooner or later! We still have time." Verne paused. "Approximately one hundred and five days I believe." Verne had lost the intense edge of worry in his voice that he had those many months ago. The woodland band was well on schedule with their food stores, no worry of starvation this winter! Verne gave Hammy a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find your nuts by winter. And as soon as I finish checking the log I'll come help you, okay?" This seemed to calm Hammy's overstrung nerves a bit. With a smile of renewed confidence the squirrel zipped off like a little red blaze before Verne even knew it. Stella came out of the logs large entrance.

"Was that Hammy I heard? At it again, huh?" Verne nodded and answered. "But he'll be okay."

But Hammy was back in his state of frantic worry soon after he left Verne at the log. He had hidden over a hundred nuts during the spring and summer months, but now it were if no nuts exsited to be found! There wasn't too much ground to cover in the small triangular space of woodland left after the sudden large scale construction of El Rancho, the nuts could not be far! Hammy lept deftly and took to the trees. Scampering hither and thither amoungst the branches looking to see if he hid nuts in any of the knotholes. Hammy's eyes darted everywhere yet it seemed he lacked the sense to look before he lept. In one swift and nearly reflexed move, Hammy flew off of one branch and landed onto another...but he also flew straight into the former keeper of the branch. They both teetered precariously over the edge.

"Wh-whoa! Hammy!" Were the only words that had time to escape RJ's mouth before he plummeted from the high branches to the ground. The red squirrel's natural ability to balance on just about anything saved him from the drop. He flinched and looked down pitifully at the fallen raccoon who in turn looked up and stared ice cicles at him. "Whoops! Sorry, RJ!" Hammy temporarily put searching for nuts out of his mind and scampered down to help his fallen friend. RJ stood up and pulled away any debri that caught onto his fur during the fall. Then he looked Hammy square in the face. "What was that about?" Hammy held his hands behind his back, shruged his shoulders and tried to look timid. "I was...looking for my nuts?"

RJ grimaced, still checking himself for any signs of injury but he seemed to have survived it with only a dull ache. "If your still looking for those same nuts then I don't know what to say... you've been at it for weeks." Hammy pouted. "But I HAVE to find my nuts! I always put them in a place that I can remember but now it seems I can't remember so I can't find my nuts but I need them, I need them right now or I'll starve! Winter will come and I'll have no-"

"HAMMY!"

Hammy stopped his ranting just long enough to listen to RJ. "Listen, I've already done my share of the food gathering so if it'll calm you down I'll help you find your nuts."

Hammy was elated. "Really?"

"Yes. Because no tree branch will be safe to sleep on until you do." Hammy reclimed the tree that RJ had fell from and gazed over whatever he could see. His eyes rested to the land beyond the hedge. RJ watched him from down below. "I wouldn't be surprised if you hid your nuts out there, buddy." At that moment Hammy's face contorted in a strange and slightly disturbing manner. Then he lept up in the air letting out a giant "WHOOP!" Then he ran back down to tackle RJ back to the ground. "Ack! Hammy what the heck is wrong with you?" Hammy was estatic. "Out there! Over the Hedge! My nuts! " RJ roughly pushed the hyperactive beast off him. "What?"

"I hid all my nuts...over the hedge! I remember now!"

"...And...why would you hide your nuts out there when you live in here?" RJ pointed down to signify the small piece of green that stuck out like a sore thumb in the midst of surburbia. But Hammy did not answer instead he just ran fast, through the trees, past the log, past the pond and through the hedge. RJ followed but was already berating himself. Looking up at the setting sun, RJ wondered why in the world did he ever volunteer to go find over a hundred useless nuts.


	2. Unexpected run in

RJ could not believe it even though it was absolutely true. Hammy had hidden every single one of his nuts in the backyard of just about every suburban house in El Rancho. He still didn't understand WHY but hey, this was Hammy.

"Ooooh! My preciousssss!" Hammy squeezed the little nut tightly in his arms before shoving it in his expansive cheeks. Then he would zip off to some other location with RJ casually strolling behind. At this point the raccoon was only out to enjoy the quiet nighttime walk with Hammy's antics being something interesting to watch.

He smirked "Well at least he got his memory back." With another backyard purged of Hammy's nuts, the red squirrel ran up onto the roof of one of the houses, he paused there before going off to a new backyard to collect more nuts. RJ continued to follow casually letting his mind wander. He thought back, months ago when he came to El Rancho Camelot Estates in the desperate attempt to retrieve a mountain of human food, a blue cooler, and a red wagon for a bear who'd kill him if he didn't. RJ remembered the trials and the sticky predicaments he pushed Hammy and the others into, all potentially dangerous and one which they almost didn't escape with their lives. RJ never really thought about Vincent the bear other than the fact that the was many many miles away inside Jelly stone Park. That insane home owners woman and the crazed vermin exterminator were also far away, but where he did not know. But most of all RJ thought about his new place in life. With a family, he couldn't complain, it was certainly the good life. And RJ couldn't ask for more. Deep down RJ knew he owed his life to every last one of them.

"RJ! RJ! C'mere c'mere c'mere c'mere!" The Raccoon's thoughts snapped back to the present. He looked to where Hammy's voice was coming from. He was perched in a little tree that sat in front of a houses' living room window. By now the sun had set and the stars were out. But judging by the flashing blue glow effect reflecting on the window, some human was watching television.

"Hey Hammy, move over." RJ climbed up the tree and sat on the same branch. The game was on. And RJ's favorite team too! "Alright Alright Steelers! Lets bring it home tonight!" Hammy looked at RJ. "The Who?" RJ sighed knowing he had to explain.

"So I assume you've never heard of football, right?" Hammy nodded. "Well basically its a human sport. Two teams made of really big gorilla looking men run around with this ...weird ball thing. They go up and down that big patch of grass there, and whoever s team makes it all the way to the other side with the ball scores points." Hammy's eyes seemed to glisten with understanding until.

"Whats a gorilla?"

"A giant monkey"

"Whats a monkey?"

"It was just a figure of spee-"

"I thought you said this was a human sport!"

"Hammy it was just a figure of speech!"

"And how did they get that grass to grow there, did they build that giant place in a forest?"

"No they just-"

"And whats that thing in black and white? Is that the zeeebrah you were telling me about earlier!"

RJ saw the referee. "Hammy no, Its the-"

"OH,OH, OH, OH- If they're so big then why do they have to wear tha----.ah...ah!...ack!"

For a few short moments RJ stared blankly at his over reacting friend. But then it dawned on him that Hammy forgot to take the nuts out of his cheeks before he started talking.

"HAMMY! GEEZE!" The raccoon reached out to grab the now choking Hammy. He could see the bulge of a nut partially down in his throat. But before RJ could grab the squirrel, Hammy jerked backwards in a vain effort to rid himself of the lodged nut. He tumbled to the ground still struggling. RJ ran down from the tree, nearly falling to get there. "HAMMY!"

A dog growled threateningly at the small pitiful form of a raccoon it saw trying to make passage though his territory, which was nothing more than his owner's backyard. The dog ran the length of his rope before it strained and choked him to a stop. He barked death threats at this wild creature. His off white teeth yearning to sink into anything that dared crossed his yard at night. The raccoon pressed its body to the wire fence that kept it caged with the maddened dog. Inch by inch it edged its way around the perimeter, hoping to find a gap between the bottom of the fence and the ground. But none could be seen.

"I'll bite you, raccoon!" The dog once again ran the length of his rope. This time he didn't pull back when his collar pressed deeply against his throat. The rope was bad due to the skimpy quality and the owner's unwillingness to pay good money for good rope. The raccoon could see the inevitable and desperately started climbing the fence. Then the rope snapped.

"Hammy, I got ya, just hold still!" RJ had reached Hammy who was flailing on his back like an upturned cockroach. His eyes were bulging and bloodshot. And if it could be believed his fur was changing a pale blue hue. RJ knew he had to act fast and grabbed the squirrel around the waist hoisting him upwards. When out of nowhere a high pitched terrified squeal reached his ears, followed by the loud ferocious barking of a dog echoing from the back of the house. A crash, more squealing, and it all seemed to join together and rush at both of them in one big mass of sound, sight, and chaos.

A raccoon bolted from behind the house and down the small grass covered alley way that separates one house from the other. Next came a gigantic dog with a killing intent in his eye following close on the raccoon's heals. Before RJ could even think of anything defensive the raccoon was already on top of them. It ran across Hammy's still slightly grounded body, one paw stamping right into his chest. In one painful heave Hammy's muscles tightened and he vomited the still whole yet very slimy nut onto the grass. It all happened in seconds, the run away was now on the road.

Now it was the dogs turn.

"That certainly ain't Nugent!" RJ, with all the agility available in his body, hoisted the stunned Hammy and himself up the tree in record speed. The dog's muzzle slammed into the trunk painfully but it took no toll on his aggressiveness. He barked louder and jumped and clawed at the tree although he could not climb it. He hoped to get two wild beasts out of this chase.

"What the hell is going on out there! Buzz? BUZZ STOP THAT BARKING NOW!" The human had gotten up from his couch and was now beating at the window trying to get his dog to be quiet. RJ's attention stayed on the dog until he heard the familiar sound of a door slam and the sound of footsteps marching over a paved drive way to reach their current location.

"We gotta get out of here." Ignoring the dog, RJ lifted Hammy onto his shoulder and continued to climb the tree. Its highest branches just reached the gutter pipe and RJ latched onto it, pulling up both himself and his unconscious friend. As soon as he left the ledge the human was heard arguing with his own dog.

"Whats all this fuss about you crazy animal. And whats all this...is this blood?" The man only noticed because of the red smears that showed on on his white tennis shoes.

RJ checked Hammy for signs of cuts, anything inflicted because of his fall. Minute scratches were on his chest, tiny blood specks, definitely nothing life threatening. The man started combing the bushes around the edges of his house too see if there were any dead animals. His dog, Buzz, sniffed the blood in the grass and tried to run out into the street but his owner held him fast by his choke chain. "You're not going anywhere, boy. I'm going to have to punish you if you did any damage to the backyard." Buzz whimpered, he had up rooted one of the fence posts to get at the raccoon since he could not jump the fence himself, so now it sagged pitifully on the ground.

After the human and his dog left the scene RJ went to work on reviving Hammy.

"Wake up!" Slap! The squirrel leapt nine feet in the air. "Eeeya! Wha- what is it? What happened? Where did my nuts go!"

"Calm down calm down...I think you should look again tomorrow. The dogs are crazy tonight"

"Aww...okay. But will you promise to come help me again?"

RJ's eye twitched. "Sure. I can't possibly think up better plans."

The pair decided to keep a low profile on their back to the hedge. But for some unexplained reason outside of a hunch, Hammy had the idea that they were being followed.

"I think there's someone behind that garden gnome."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Well look at it! Its so evil looking!" Soon Hammy was pointing and accusing every lawn decoration, bush, and tree to have someone hiding behind it, ready to spring.

It was after they had reached the hedge and Hammy went though, that RJ paused to look over his shoulder. The world was quiet. No bird chirps, the air held no breeze. The crickets were the only real noise makers and all of the house lights were out as far as he could see. And nothing smelled wrong either.

But in all this quiet RJ couldn't help but feel disturbed about tonight. Specifically the scare with the dog...and that..other raccoon. A raccoon! Who had that been anyway? Then every lawn gnome and tree started looking suspicious. RJ shook his head out of those crazy thoughts. He was tired thats all. Tired. The raccoon sighed and stepped through the hedge feeling worse for wear.

"Stop freaking me out, Hammy."


	3. The Discovery

_A/N: I'm sorry for not putting one up sooner. But I guess its mandatory to say that I do not own any characters from the Over the Hedge movie, comic or otherwise. The only character I do own is the mystery raccoon who has yet to be named and Buzz. And maybe any other animal I come up with thats yet to make an appearance. Other than that, thank you for all your positive reviews!  
_

About a week of nut gathering passed. All of which were highly more successful than the first night. As it turned out Hammy had hidden more than just one hundred nuts. The number hovered around two hundred fifty so the work did a number on both of them. Until Heather decided to join, but even then untimely distractions made the progress slow. Namely mouse traps, fly paper, and poison ivy.

On a Saturday morning the nut gathering gang decided to take a break. Hammy still sported a bad itch and Heather was still combing sticky fly catcher residue out of her fur. Hammy had stored himself away inside RJ's small "pad" sitting on the ground with the universal remote in his paws. He flipped away nonchalantly until around 999 channels later he found some morning cartoons. Minutes later RJ slipped in and spied what the squirrel was watching. "You like this stuff?" He plopped down in the baby car seat and watched the story unfold. The bulk of the episode consisted of a lot of shouting, pouting, bright colors an overbearing variety of cuddly and surreal looking creatures.

"I've never seen animals that look like this, RJ" Hammy said, transfixed at the screen. RJ stared too but his face was transfixed with bewilderment instead of awe. "I've never seen humans that look that that, Hammy"

It became tremendously obvious by the third episode of the 10 episode marathon, that the cartoon had no plot to follow other than some announced fights which consisted of the "humans" yelling out orders to their "animals" who attacked in the oddest ways possible and were later on imprisoned inside tiny round cells that looked mighty uncomfortable to Hammy. And stranger yet, despite their entrapments, the animals were best friends with their humans.

"Thats just mean! Why do they have to take that!"

"Humans have the potential to be mighty cruel things, Hammy. Mighty cruel." He was thinking about the people who actually made this show. After a commercial went off advertising the cartoon's exclusive and probably bad tasting cereal, the theme song picked up again with the same dragged out and annoying tune. "I'm out of here." RJ left the area to the very itchy Hammy and his cartoons, coming in sight of Ozzie and his daughter Heather, he decided to check on the younger possum's fur problem. He could hear Heather complaining before he even got within speaking distance.

"Ouch! That hurts!"

"Sorry dear, just hold still."

"But dad! Urrrg! Watch it that comb hurts!"

"But Heather its the only way you'll ever get this nasty residue out of your fur." He yanked back on the comb and earned another howl from his daughter. RJ eased over to the two possums trying to not look like he was amused by this. He was.

"Hey Ozz-man, whats going on ?" And then he looked at Heather who in turn, after hearing RJ's voice, spun around to face him. She looked shaken and her fur spit off her body in the most awkward and frizzy way. RJ knew better than to crack a smile but that did little to help.

"Grr! Dad! Give me that comb!" In a quick paw swipe Heather snatched the comb from her father's paws and stormed away into a more private area of their green home. "I'll do it myself!" It was obvious she did not like getting caught without looking her best. Ozzy looked downcast when RJ nudged him. "Having a rough time aren't you?"

Ozzy seemed to deflate. "Oh RJ. You don't even know the half of it. I think Heather and I are growing apart. Its been getting worse day after day."

RJ didn't really know what to say to comfort him. The raccoon had become a "family man" you could say. But not a father. But he tried his best anyway. "Aw come on, Ozzy. I'm sure its just a teen thing. And Heather is growing up." This seemed to do the exact opposite of what RJ had hoped. Ozzy just shrank back a few steps and hunched his shoulders as if admitting defeat.

"RJ I don't know what to do. She's changing right before my eyes." The possum lifted his paws before his face in a theatric manner before cradling them to his chest. "It feels like only yesterday when I...cradled her in my arms like a baby." RJ felt an on coming wave of sympathy. RJ had by now learned what it felt like to gain love. But not loose love. It was a new concept, but then again Ozzy wasn't really loosing Heather. Things were just changing.

It wasn't long after that that Ozzy had convinced RJ to let him walk around with him, to release all his concealed tensions about his role as a father and how he tried to raise Heather as best he could without the help of a mate.

"Not that it really matters, you know. I mean." Ozzy shrugged. "Even without a real mother...Heather has all of you. And...I think you all bring a healthy dose of maturation into my daughter's life."

RJ bit his tongue at that statement. What could characters like Verne, Hammy, and Tiger teacher Heather? How to be incredibly insane, narcissistic, and neurotically obsessed with keeping a schedule all at the same time? None of those traits seemed to even compliment each other! It was a miracle then that Heather was still stable.

They both walked around the neighborhood together but not bothering too much on staying hidden. It was warm for a fall day but only children were outside. And they were all absorbed in their own zone of play not paying attention to a wandering raccoon and possum.

Ozzy eventually took his conversation off of his daughter and onto something different. "You know, RJ. I've lived here my whole life. During the last winter it all changed so much. Nothing is recognizable outside of what is on our side of our little hedge. Yet sometimes I wonder." His gaze went up and out to the blue and white mountains in the far distance. "Whats out there?" RJ shrugged. "None of the good stuff thats here I can tell you that. Remember this is the good life."

Ozzy seemed thoughtful. "Yes but...that can always be altered can't it? A Utopian paradise can become a hell on earth at the flick of a wrist. Friends become foes, The easy life suddenly changing into a fight for survival! Love turned to hate because of fates cruel hand!"

RJ raised a curious eyebrow. "Where do you get this stuff?"

Ozzy chucked as they walked under a row of cars and SUVs that lined the sidewalk in front of homes. The possum was about to leave the security of their concealment and walk on to the next row of cars when RJ's paw shot out in front of him.

"Whoa there, partner. Someones coming out of that house."

The raccoon and possum looked on at the house directly in front of the car they were standing under. Its front door came open and a petite woman heaved her way over the threshold. In her hand she held a leash and on the other end of that that leash was a giant yet petrified German Shepard. RJ squinted his eyes at the sight.

"Buzz?"

Ozzy looked confused. "Who's Buzz?"

RJ signaled at the large dog. "Thats Buzz."

He noticed the dog's out of character whining reluctance to move. "He looks freaked." A conversation was struck between the woman pulling Buzz down the walkway and a man who was in the backyard fixing the damaged fence.

"Are you sure he got bit, honey?" Said the woman with a half grunt, trying to keep Buzz from running back into the house.

"Yeah I'm sure he was bit on the nose, Margret. Chasing some damn animal. And just look what he did to my fence!"

Margret sighed. "I know, Bill. You showed me at least twenty nine times in the past five days! I know the fence is broken!"

"I should show that dog to the pound for doing this! Do you know how much fixing this fence is costing?"

"About twenty dollars?"

"No its twenty five!" Bill yelled this out as if the extra five dollars was a noticeable increase.

"Well...Why didn't you tell be before that Buzz got bit on the nose like that. I would have taken him to the vet sooner!" At the sound of the word "vet" Buzz near panicked. He spun around and ran back to the house but was stopped short by the woman who had him by the leash. She had to cling to a light pole just to stay up right.

"Buzz...hold...still! Bill!...- Who knows what some wild animal might have given him- STOP STRUGGLING BUZZ OR ITS A ONE WAY TICKET TO THE POUND!" The big brute of a dog remained calm then. And RJ couldn't help but smirk at his predicament. So he didn't like the vet? Let it be the worst trip he's ever taken! Margret and Buzz walked to the SUV that RJ and Ozzy were under. They both started to back away to another car to keep Buzz from catching their-

Sniff sniff...Buzz unleashed a rumbling growl and rushed forward, nearly pulling Margret to the ground. "Buzz!" The German Shepard tried to shove his nose underneath the large van. He used his paws to try and reach underneath. The dog pulled out and started sniffing again from one car to the next. "Shoot! He got us. Run Ozz!" Both raccoon and possum ran post haste back the way that had come, making sure to never leave the safety of the car's under sides. Buzz could not reach the animals because of the incredibly small space created by the lowness of the cars and the slight elevation of the side walk but he caught sight of the possum and barked madly.

"Oh!" Ozzy went stock still in shock when Buzz's loud barking over taking him. Instinct instantly came to him mere moments later and soon he was as flat and stiff as a stale pancake. RJ had to turn around. "Ozzy not now!" The raccoon grabbed Ozzy and tried to revive him. "Where have I don't this before?" Buzz saw RJ and went crazy remembering the last time they had met.

"Bill! Help me! This dog is going insane!" Bill seemed to not be listening. "What?" Margret continued. "Come get the d-oooAAHG!" She fell face first onto the side walk when Buzz made his last and successful effort at pulling the leash out of her hands."

"Ozz, Ozzy get up, man!" Ozzy's eyes slowly fluttered open as he mumbled the words "I saw the dog...where is it?" RJ helped Ozzy back on his feet, he had also lost sight of Buzz. "I don't know I thought he was right..." Then RJ felt the hot breath flattening out his back fur. "THERE!" Buzz swiped at them from his new position on the street side of the cars. There was more room for him to reach but he was still to big to squeeze under the cars. RJ and Ozzy kept their distance as the dog tried in vain to snap one of them up in his jaws. But as Buzz started his second attempt he was bowled over by the overbearing mass of Bill who had come to restrain him to Margret's great relief. "He was starting to scare the children, Bill now help me get him into the van!" Buzz was big and strong but not as fat, strong, and determined as Bill was to get the dog into the van. With ease Bill lifted the German Shepard off the ground the way a muscular hero would lift up his lovely and small girlfriend and shoved him into the car after Margret got the backseat door open. After the woman closed it Bill kneeled back down to see what caused Buzz to act this way. But nothing was obvious when he looked. "Whats wrong with this dog?"

"Are you sure nothing is under there?" Margret kneeled down right beside her husband but was also greeted with nothing. "Thats strange...maybe Buzz really is sick," was her suggestion when they both stood up. After a few brief words past between the couple, the woman got into the car and the man went back to his work fixing the fence.

Down under the SUV, RJ and Ozzy stood pressed like paper against the the inside of the tire wheel. Silently Ozzy whispered. "Are they gone?" RJ answered, "I think so." They both deflated, and fell out on the pavement. But both quickly got out of the way when the vehicle above them started to move.

"That was close...lets...try to be more careful."

"Yeah. Good idea."

The two friends recrossed the neighborhood and made it to the hedge just as the day was half way through. Heather was in a better mood now that her fur was clean. She had to wash herself in the pond about three times but the job was done. She was sitting alone with the comb, gently moving it through her fur when her father walked up from behind. "So dear, are you feeling any better?" Heather smiled lightly and nodded. "Yeah much better, um.." she hesitated. "Sorry about earlier. I need to work on that." The father wrapped his arms around his daughter, his eyes shown with understanding. "Its okay, dear. I understand."

"Has anybody seen Quillo? I've looked everywhere but I can't seem to find him." Verne understood what it felt like. Since the level of attention needed to keep up with a child was probably below the level of attention it took to keep an eye on Hammy. " I was about to ask you a question just like that, Penny. But I'm afraid I don't know where Quillo is." Penny the porcupine mother of three young triplet brothers tried her best to not over worry when one or all of them went missing for a time span longer than what she felt was safe for young ones their age. Bucky, Quillo, and Spike were getting more rambunctious and determined to explore with each passing day. Slowly eeking their way out of the tight parental grasp of their parents in order to experience the suburbs with out them.

"Lou and I have searched everywhere for him, Verne. Oh I hope he didn't go over the hedge alone!" It was Verne's guess that Quillo probably went with Hammy on another nut hunt. He didn't say this to Penny though knowing full well that Hammy's brand of babysitting would do little to calm Penny's nerves.

"Jeepers, where could he have gone. The boys were taking naps right were they were supposed to and one little distraction takes me and Lou away for a bit, we come back, and Quillo is gone!" Penny looked distraught, Vern looked up into the sky and could only wonder about what Hammy was doing at that time.

Quillo looked up at Hammy who sat high on a gutter pipe.

"Hammy how much farther do we have to go before we find these nuts? Quillo's little paws were starting to feel fatigued from walking through lawns, flower beds, and flora house decorations. Going in every which direction, following Hammy to the corners of suburbia and back again. Trying his best to keep up with the acrobatic squirrel yet at the same time not get caught. Although Hammy was covered in moss, mud, and leaves. (Trying to stop the horrible itch) He had a much easier time getting around than Quillo. A squirrel was a much more common sight going up an down trees, electric wires, and on roof tops, than a porcupine baby scampering though a front lawn.

Hammy sniffed the wind. His amazing squirrel senses kicking in and locating the nuts near by. "This way! " Hammy slid down the gutter pipe and crossed the yard to two garden gnomes standing guard in front of a beautiful flower bed. Quillo gazed into the darkening evening sky. The small porcupine could see the slight appearance of stars . "I think this'll have to be the last stop, Hammy. Its getting late!" Hammy looked thoughtful for a second but agreed. "Okay!" Hammy gently tilted one of gnomes and started to fish out the nuts hidden underneath.

Carrell and sister Samantha were sitting in their home's living room playing video games, wildly tapping at their controls in their attempt to get the upper hand. _Player 1 YOU WIN!_

"YEEEAAH! I won! You lost! You suck!" Carrell stuck out his deep red tongue, red from too many sugary red lollipops, Samantha's face squinted in disappointment and annoyance.

"Oh be quiet! You only won because you kept using the same move over and over and thats cheating!" Her brother shrugged. "Playing fair is for the weak!" His attempt to sound tough only angered Samantha more who jumped at him started pounding down on his face. But Carrell was smart enough to block her punches with his arms. "Get off me!" In on heave the girl fell off her brother and tumbled backwards. She layed on her back. From her position she could see the world beyond the patio door upside down and something caught her interest. She picked herself up and crouched by the see through patio door, calling her brother to come up. "Carrell come over here! I see something!" He did and what he saw also caught his interest. "Woooow. That squirrel looks like it hasn't bathed in months!" Carrell was nine, and anything that looked strange, nasty, and just plain weird still piqued his interest as something to throughly explore or menacingly harass. He opened the latch to the patio door and quietly slid the it open. Samantha caught sight of Quillo. "Aw do you see that porcupine! He's so cute!" Carrell waved for her to be quiet much to her dislike. "Shhhh!" his eyes remained on the muddy squirrel.

"Come on I'm going to try and catch it." he whispered.

Hammy had just finished fishing the nuts from under the second lawn gnome and stored them inside his expansive cheeks when he noticed how the ground below him became shrouded in shadow. He was surprised for a few seconds when he heard Quillo beside him yell out. He looked up to see two human hands reaching out to grab him. But Hammy was naturally to fast for any human hands. He was gone in a flash. The human boy seemed at a loss. And then a very dissapointed look stretched over his face. Hammy saw Quillo was still in the yard and the boy, who had given up on him, was now going after the young porcupine, trapping him against the side of the house. Hammy sprang into action and zoomed across the yard, climbing up the boy's body and getting in underneath his shirt.

"GAH! SAMANTHA! CALL MOM THE SQUIRREL IS ATTACKING ME!"

Samantha was obviously scared to death at this notion and rand inside the house to get their oblivious mother. Carrell jumped around like a lunatic with a squirrel going up and down the front and back of his shirt. "Its Rabid!" It was only by chance that he managed to catch it and slap down on his shirt hard with his palm. Causing the dizzy squirrel to fall out of his shirt and onto the grass. Carrell then backed away from it, afraid of anything that could potentially hurt him although he had not been bitten. And then suddenly Carrell wanted revenge on the animal for making him look stupid in front of his sister.

"You need a bath you stupid squirrel." he said nastily while reaching for the water hose, he turned the blast power to its maximum.

Quillo ran towards Hammy to try and get his friend focused again. "Hammy! Dude, can you hear me? We've got to get out of here!" He wanted so badly to run but would never in a life time leave his friend behind. It were as if Hammy's senses had been knocked off kilter by the human boy's strike. But he shook the dizziness from his head and looked at Quillo brightly. "Right!" It was only a moment after he said that when both he and Quillo felt the incredible pressure of water blast them, over the yard and over the fence in one powerful stream that seemed to carry them. "WHAAAAAAAA!".

But even when the two animals were gone Carrell's fun wasn't over. The hose was long enough so he opened the fence's gate and ran out to the side walk, still spraying the two animals maliciously. "Take this you damn squirrel!" Quillo was pushed out into the street because he was too weak to fight the water pressure. He squeaked as he fell down a storm drain. Hammy managed to escape the water's path by hiding in a tree in another yard, and the yards owners came out in protest of high velocity water spraying on their windows. So Carrell stopped and tried to slink back into his backyard trying to look innocent. But it was too late, his mother had seen the whole thing...

Later when all the commotion had ended Hammy ran down the tree and across the street to the storm drain. He poked his head down the large hole trying to peer into the darkness. "Quillo are you down there?" he shouted and his voice slightly echoed in his ears but no sound of Quillo answering back. "Quillo!"

The dark place smelled rank with blood. That was the first thought Quillo registered as soon as his eyes opened. This held him to his spot in fear. The fear of moving too much. Of exposing himself to whatever it was which caused the bloody smell. But then he heard Hammy's yell pierce the darkness. He wasn't far away, he was above him but Quillo felt like he was down deep and constricted. The smell of blood paralyzed him. In the instant he realized he was to afraid to move, Quillo hated that he agreed to tag a long with Hammy on this insane outing. "Quillo!" Hammy's voice rang out again, and again, and again. Each time his voice lost its usual naïve blissfulness, a more frightful element entered the squirrels voice. He was worried for Quillo. Quillo yearned for the courage to call back...but the blood. Was the wet liquid he felt under his quills water or blood?

Something moved.

Quillo felt his heart pound when he heard something slide through the sludge at the bottom of the drain towards him. He whimpered and backed away only to feel his back pressed against the wall. The space was small and Quillo could see none of it. Then the young porcupine felt coarse fur brush against his nose and shrieked. This caused an immediate reaction to whatever had touched him. It shrank back. And Hammy, hearing Quillo's scream only resumed his calls for him with more vigor.

There was something inside Hammy's brain that finally clicked. _I'm going down _he thought, and he did without further question. There was a light splash as his paws met with the mucky ground and darkness consumed him. Hammy picked up on the young porcupine's pitiful wails and made a beeline, he didn't need to see. But as soon as Hammy reached Quillo he crouched down on all fours. The smell of blood was stronger than ever. Had something died? He heard movement and snatched Hammy into his paws. Quillo buried himself deep into the squirrel's chest fur the same way he instinctively hid under his mother. The quills hurt like hell, but Hammy dragged the sulking Quillo back to the storm drain entrance where a small amount of light showed through. The animal behind them came forward, in one deft movement Hammy tossed Quillo up and out the opening. "Stay down!" he hissed at the shivering porcupine babe, who was still too petrified to move anyway. "H-H-Hammy! Behind you!" The squirrel turned around to face something that really made his heart stop.

If a face could be seen Hammy probably would have yelled. But fur matted with blood and dirt covered most of its features save for one blankly staring eye that was exposed underneath the hanging fur. It bored down onto Hammy with a power he could not understand. He sank back into the wall and slid down to the ground, too afraid to move. The creature's fur was dark as night, even in the blackness of the storm drain Hammy could see this. The body was small, only a slight significant size bigger than he was. Its tail and body fur was as matted, bloody, and dirty as the fur on its head making the animal look ragged. For some reason that Hammy wasn't sure of he knew this creature was a raccoon although he couldn't pick out a gender. The body was gaunt probably from famine and the animal's natural sent was lost in the smell of sewage and blood. A bad nightmare, a horror story, one cookie too many before bedtime.

The raccoon looked up at Quillo who gasped and shrank back. Not knowing if it was going to attack or not, Hammy took no chances and kicked the raccoon right in the chest with his back legs, it seemed to crumble, then he scrambled up and out of the drain before it had time to regain its footing. Without saying anything Hammy grabbed Quillo and made a frantic high speed dash back to the hedge. He knew he would have to take the fall for Quillo being out so late, but that would be alright. His mind raced on an on. Maybe he should forget about the remainder of his nuts, for some reason he lost a substantial amount of concern for nuts and his mind rested on the bleeding animal back in the storm drain. He saw it crumble in weakness under his kick and knew he had kicked too hard.

_A/N: And thats all folks! For now anyway. Who knows when I'll even begin on chapter 4. But I know I can't procrastinate for too long. I hope to get the story unfolded more by next chapter.Thank you for reading. _


	4. The Rescue

The next morning was different from a lot of other mornings, well at least it was different for Hammy. He had indeed taken the fall for his young porcupine friend Quillo. But through the eyes of everyone else it seemed a light punishment. Don't leave the the log. But through Hammy's eyes, the desperate lack of activity for an entire day was devastating. His untapped manic energy reserves begged to be let loose across the lawns of the suburbs. The only time he was not spending running around was when he was sleeping, eating, or watching Saturday morning cartoons. He wasn't sleepy, he'd already ate, and it was a Sunday. Nothing good ever comes on television on Sunday.

Every body had left to have their own fun. As Hammy stood by the log looking dejected his mind flickered between his longing to run around and the events of the night before. Not the nuts though, but the raccoon.

The Raccoon.

The raccoon in the gutter.

The bleeding...raccoon in the gutter.

The thoughts took no time in reoccurring to the squirrel, nearly hitting Hammy with lighting speed. "The raccoon in the storm drain!" He could remember the pungent smell of blood. How much blood was inside a raccoon anyway? He'd have to remember to ask RJ. But right then there were more pressing matters. Hammy paced around the log urgently in deep thought or at least the largest depth of thought he could achieve. " I've gotta tell the others...why didn't I tell them last night!" He pounded his skull with his small fists, maybe if had have told them about his discovery it would have saved him this cruel and unusual punishment of non activity. The pacing was doing no good and he didn't know when anyone would be back. So what options did he have?

"Lets see I uh...I could go find the others! And then after that I can go to the drain! Or first I could go to the drain and then go find the others!" He ran to the hedge and jumped on top of it, bobbing up and down on his hind legs trying to get as far a view as he could. None of the family was in sight and Hammy wondered if he could even remember in front of which house the drain was.

Streams of questions ran through his mind. If he couldn't find the others but could remember the storm drain's location, would he be able to help the raccoon himself? How much time did it have left? Would the others get mad if he left the log? Surely they wouldn't! Not with an injured animal of whos life hung in the very balance of his decided actions!

Hammy sped away from the hedge on route to the storm drain, he zig zagged from left to right, from one house to the next, he rarely ever ran straight. As he ran Hammy recalled the drains location suddenly, probably from his shear determination to remember. When he made it to the drain there was a slight pause to him. The darkness of the hole, even in the day time still looked haunting from where he stood. The road up and down was silent. As if this moment were chosen specifically for him to will himself closer to the dark drain without interruption of humans or other animals. A sudden gust of autumn wind blew past, running through Hammy's fur and giving him a chill.

As Hammy edged himself closer the sunlight seemed to become less prominent in his surrounding vision. All he saw was the dark dwelling, the storm drain. And all he could let his thoughts rest on was who was inside it. As he peered inside the gutter the hollow blackness consumed his head, when his eyes became adjusted all he could see was the slightest outline of a creature down at the bottom. The strong smell of blood still rang bells in his head, the intensity was enough to make his eyes water. His ears also picked up the faint hum of buzzing wings. The sound warbled in and out constantly.

Nervously, Hammy licked his two front teeth and tried to speak down into the hole. But soon he realized that he didn't have the courage to vocalize. What if the raccoon was already dead? Part of Hammy didn't want to discover if this was fact. With his keen eye Hammy was able to discern light movements from the animal below. A flickering movement of the tail, the weak rise and fall of the rib exposed chest. As time passed the entire body seemed to twitch and convulse in a manner similar to the way he usually does when he sleeps. This information provided to him from anyone who has the misfortune of sleeping right next to the squirrel when he'd dream. So Hammy came unto the assumption that the raccoon was dreaming about something.

Hammy let his eyes travel the body of the sleeping raccoon once more. He wondered how long it had been stuck down in this place. Hammy regretted not bringing any nuts for the poor creature to eat, but was too captivated by its presents to move away. Slowly Hammy inched forward, his own innocent curiosity drew him, until he was fully into the hole and the raccoon just inches away, breathing slowly in its deep sleep. Every few moments that went by Hammy could feel the light tingling touch of flies landing and crawling along his fur, but they lost interest in him and flew away again, back to the raccoon. This disturbed him more because the presents of flies either meant extreme filth or death. But Hammy took comfort in the slow yet constant rise and fall of the raccoon's chest. There was life in it still.

Hammy could see the leg of the animal through the thick dark of the drain. It lay stretched out and rigid. He narrowed his eyes and inched closer only to back away in surprise at what he saw. It looked like a sizable gash ran horizontally along the leg as if some larger animal had tried to bite it off. Raw flesh lay through the black fur, exposed and red to the filthy air. It looked partially healed yet possibly infected. Hammy's fur raised at the sight, his body tensed, who could survive something like that!

RJ stood steady out on the farthest branch that reached over into Mr. Mitchellson's yard. He stood poised and silent, waiting for just the right moment to spring. The man tending the grill just below let his attention wander else where as he left the cooked hot dog franks unguarded. With a graceful flick of his wrist, and a confident grin, RJ cast the fishing rod out over into the yard. "Alright, steady now." he mused quietly to himself, the hook swung gently over the heated grill before steadying and RJ got the hook inside the hot meat. "Going up!" RJ pulled back on the reel with two hot dogs on a single hook much to the applause of Stella and Tiger who were perched on the same branch but hidden by the golden leaves that had not already fallen. The two dangling hot dogs were then snatched up into the awaiting buns that were held by the skunk. "Now thats what I'm talking about, RJ. If you don't mind pass the mustard." She passed the second hot dog on to her squeeze, Tiger who gracefully accepted.

"Thank you my dear. And a fine show, RJ, my father could not have done better!" RJ rolled his eyes at the cat's constant reference to his father yet took the compliment to heart, another voice could be heard from the adjacent yard down by the trunk of the tree.

"Are ya gonna forget about us there, RJ?" Lou called down from the trunk of tree where he and his family sat along with Verne, Heather and Ozzy. Since the tree was sitting in the yard next to Mr. Mitchellson's they couldn't be seen from behind it. "Don't worry Lou, I've got the second round coming soon enough." While Mr. Mitchellson was still distracted by other matters, RJ went about fishing up the rest of the hot dogs.

Down below Verne let himself sit nestled between the roots of the tree that slightly broke from the ground. He rested his hands on his knees and sighed, looking out onto the street and the houses beyond. It was still morning time and the day was clear, but a nice set of wild looking bushes growing around the tree kept anyone from seeing them directly. Yes unclipped bushes. Things had gotten a little more loose and much more comfortable for the residence since that insane Gladys woman's arrest. Yet despite the easy going air of his family Verne couldn't help but feel slightly detached from the merriment. Mostly because of the absence of their hyper active bundle of energy, Hammy, who he was sure would have loved to sink his teeth into a nice juicy hot dog right about now. It was very noble of Hammy to put himself up for fault for Quillo staying up past curfew, and sacrifice such a nice day at the log. But even Penny began to think that the punishment was too much. Hammy staying still was like a volcano slowly building up its power and releasing a spontaneous force nobody could stop.

"Here's your hot dog, Uncle Verne!"

"Huh? Wuh? Oh thanks, Bucky." Verne exited his somewhat worrisome daydream and accepted the hot dog. Fresh and with his favorite condiment, a big heaping glop of ketchup on top. He bit into the dog and bun with relish, remembering that one time not so long ago when he was disgusted by the thought of human food. Oh well, things change.

After everybody had a nice grilled hot dog on a bun, RJ made one for himself with all the toppings from relish to ketchup to mustard then he hopped down from the tree along with Stella and Tiger and leaned up against the tree trunk where Verne was. The raccoon looked at the turtle stuffing his face and grinned. "Hey Verne you want some hot dog with that ketchup?" Verne stalled and looked up, his face a great mess of ketchup. This got a laugh out of the triplets and RJ and the bush.

Wait. The bush? Verne turned to look at the rustling leaves and out popped...

"HEY GUYS!" Verne let out a startled cry and fell backwards onto his shell. His half eaten hot dog fell to the ground and ants took no time making a line for it.

"Hey Hamsters, what finally made you decide to join us?" RJ walked up to the excited squirrel, leaving the upturned Verne for Ozzy to pick up. Verne felt a little miffed that RJ was acting like Hammy wasn't even on punishment. And then he remembered that he himself thought it was rather unjustly. Verne brushed himself off, sighed sadly at his lost hot dog, and then turned his attention to the red squirrel. "Yes Hammy, could you please tell us why you aren't at the log right now?"

The rest of the family looked on with amused expectancy of Hammy's reason as to why he had come along. They didn't really think him breaking his punishment was a big deal. Hammy flashed a toothy grin to show his pride at remembering what he had to say, it seemed to roll off his tongue naturally.

"I found someone in a storm drain! And its dank and dark and dirty and it smells bad down there!And theres blood! Blood everywhere!"

There was no way there could have been an immediate response to this. Everyone gawked at this new set of unusual and disturbing information thrust upon them by , truth be told, the most insane character of the bunch.

"Uh-hm..Hammy, a-are you sure about what you saw?" Verne tried to break the silence first knowing full well about Hammy's over acting imagination. Although to visualize something as gruesome as that seemed out of the squirrel's character. But not to his surprise the squirrel was insistent. "But its true! It is! Theres someone stuck down in a storm drain not to far from here!"

"Which storm drain is it then?"

" The one in front of those video kids' house!"

"Ooooh. Those two." RJ leaned back on his fishing rod while thinking about those two children who were a spectical to see because in truth they hardly ever left the house. They spent all of their time inside playing video games. Every one looked from side to side without moving their heads, trying to steal a glance at the animal next to them hoping to see who would speak next. Everybody felt a nervous tension aside from RJ, Verne, and of course Hammy.

"I swear! I saw the raccoon last night before me and Quillo came home! And she's hurt really bad, she cant get out of the hole so we gotta go get her out!" by now Hammy's tail was twitching and he was starting the little sporadic dance that comes to him normally when he grows impatient.

Verne was about to interrupt again but little Quillo beat him to it. "Its true uncle Vern. I saw, up close."

"Quillo what do you mean by that?" It was Penny's turn to speak. Especially now since she felt the truth was finally being given. "Well...you see..this is why Hammy and I were out so late." The little porcupine retold the story of the nut hunt becoming a nasty run in with two children with a high pressured hose and the eerie encounter with the animal down in the gutter hole. Quillo told it in a way that was followable, more comprehensive, and for Penny a little scary. It suddenly dawned on the group that Hammy hadn't gotten a hold of a pack of Rush Hour Fizz while they weren't looking. It also dawned on the gang that somebody really was in trouble. RJ downed the last of his hot dog in one bite and with the fishing rod, he pointed out into the street the way a general might use a war staff to direct his army. " Alright then, Hammy! Show us the way!"

A good stretch of time and many formidable miles away from the beautiful and suburbanized scene of El Rancho, sat a far less impressive trailer park. The sight of "U-Bend" estates gave the impression the of utmost impoverished and pathetic atmosphere. There was no greenery to be seen in the few square miles that made up the park save a few durable weeds. No trees, no bushes, no grass. The ground was dry and cracked the way one might picture a dessert in its hottest days. And nothing green would ever be destined to grow there as long as the oppressive wheels of the trailers remained. Most of the hulking mobile homes looked the same in every way. Shape, size, make, model and color. In a strange way the eerie identical traits that each trailer had mirrored the same sameness that each suburban house had at El Rancho. But because of U-Bend estates desperate lack of beauty or any attempt at beauty, it all looked more pathetic than orderly.

One of the homes stood away from the pack. And in an attempt to make the home look more decent than the rest, curtains hung in the window and artificial grass was spread under the trailer to replicate a lawn. To be quite honest this trailer home in particular at least made the most bold attempt to stay neat and tidy. So much that it put the rest of the homes to shame. For you see the occupier of this mobile home was absolutely obsessed in all ways with perfection and cleanliness. So much that it was a militaristic lifestyle to keep the living space above par with most hospitals. A thin woman with a baseball cap on her head opened the door of her trailer home and stepped outside. In one of her hands was a bucket of hot soapy water. In the other hand was sponge, rag, and a tooth brush. Gladys Sharp knelt down by one of the front tires and with the small brush began to vigorously scrub the inside treads of the tires. All the while she griped and groaned about how other people would intentionally smear dirt all over her trailer just so they could watch her clean it off.

"Oh I can't believe it, just the nerve of these...heathens!" Gladys lit into her task of scrubbing the tires, the chrome lining, and eventually the entire trailer. When the tiresome task was done the woman went back inside her trailer and flopped down onto the tiny couch that sat up against the wall. She looked up an down the shot gun design of the trailer, its cramped living space, its dreary lack of elegance. Despite her best efforts to fix up what was now her new home she still hated to look at it. "I hate my life." It was a sentence that she droned continuously since she had been let out of prison. She would have stayed longer, but for good behavior had been released early.

Released into this hell.

Still feeling exhausted, Gladys reached over and with a weak hand turned on her small table top radio. A vast deduction from the full digital sound system with surround sound that she used to own. As it turned out a woman with a pleasant voice came over the sound waves, talking about the latest environment preservation success.

_As it turns out, today A.F.S. Has made another successful claim on land to keep as an animal preserve. Today hundreds of animal lives will be saved due to the declined plans to construct a walk out Mega Mall on the outskirts of Detroit. A.F.S states that preserving the beauty and delicate balance of this natural habitat will be a fruitful indenture into the minds of Michigan's future genera--_

Gladys quickly turned off the radio and shuddered.

Animals.

Animals...those damned--

"Calm down, Gladys calm down! Remember what the doctor said."

Gladys started to breath deeply as she got up from her couch to get a glass of water. At this time her refrigerator was broken so she could not keep perishable foods for long, nor could she keep drinks cold. So she ran some water from the tap and drank it. The water wasn't very cool and it tasted funny. Gladys blanched at the taste but downed the whole glass. The not so soothing tasting liquid did somehow calm her nerves. Which now seemed to flare like an out of control blaze with any mention of animals, wild or otherwise. The people around her who owned pets were wary.

Shakily the frail woman sat back down. Her mind raced as it usually did to chase down the anger. The reason for it. But she knew, with every bone in her body she knew why she was angry and there was no denying it. Her memories swept her back months into the past when she was the president of the El Rancho Camelot Estates housing association.

Back then life had been good, special, perfect. But now her life was a shame, not even the fraction of the shadow it once was. When Gladys had been released from jail she had hardly any money left so a trailer home was all she could afford. Somehow in the term of one week her life had been demolished despite her acts to keep it stable. Her lovely suburban home ruined in some twist of fate, by the animals she had been set to exterminate.

What would poor El Rancho do without her? Without Gladys' knowledge and guidance to coordinate, plan, and direct the place would surely fall into disrepair. Gladys could only sneer at the thought of her replacement. She had always felt that she had been born and molded specifically for that job. Nobody could run a suburb as good as her. No one could. But out of some cruel and twisted act of God she had none of that. So what if she had hired an exterminator who used illegal means of getting rid of pests behind his companies' back? So what if those extermination traps could have also killed a family pet?

"It would have been there fault. No dogs allowed unauthorized on another person's lawn." Not to mention the vermine cause nothing but trouble.

Still Gladys Sharp's mind raced in and out, through all of the possible venues she still had left to her. Any way for her to rise back to success. Ever so often her mind would flicker back to those animals. A squirrel, a possum, a raccoon, porcupines. They were all there nestled in her minds eye. All Gladys could do was sit on her couch and gaze into nothing like a mad woman, daydreaming about revenge.

Late in the afternoon of the same day as Hammy's discovery, there was a rescue to extract the injured raccoon out of the dark storm drain. It went smooth enough with a few minor complications due mostly to the severity of the raccoon's injuries. But with patience and ingenuity on the side of RJ, The family was able to get the injured raccoon back to the hedge. It was at that time when it finally began to sink in. They had rescued a fellow animal out of the jaws of certain death. Or at least for that moment it seemed. The wounds needed immediate attention and thanks to Verne's deep and slightly obsessed concern for everyone's safety, medical creams, rubs, gels, and bandages had all been stored away inside the log just in case one of the gang should take a fall.

The gash along the raccoon's back leg wasn't as bad as Hammy had described. If his description had have been true then the injury would have needed stitches. But the gash was not that deep by far so it was easily bandaged with medical creams to kill off any possible infections. It would heal in time.

Stella finished the patch work with a role of medical bandages in her paws. She looked at her handy work with Penny as her assistant. Both females stood back in gentle awe of the creature who lay before them under the shadow of a large Cottonwood tree.

"I've never seen anything like her before. She looks so fragile." Indeed the raccoon was fragile. She was smaller than the average raccoon. Nearly equal to Hammy's size if just slightly bigger. Her fur was course and matted mostly from blood and dirt, not a pleasant thing to look at. One reason why Penny made sure Lou took the kids far away from the area at least for now. The raccoon's fur was a shocking black. Black as coal. No where near the traditional gray or brown commonly seen on raccoons. But there was no shine to the fur, nothing to deem attractiveness. While the raccoon slept Penny noticed something strange. " Stella! Come here and look at her arm, there. Just look at it!" The she- raccoon's left arm was crippled. It was shrunken and disfigured. The sleeping raccoon had the crippled arm tucked protectively against her chest as if afraid to expose it to the elements. Or perhaps she just could not move it anyway. The porcupine mother shook her head solemnly. "The poor dear. How did she ever survive with such a thing?" It was clear to see that the crippled leg was an aged wound. The gash was still fresh.

Later that night the young ones were put to bed. This included Heather much to her teenage contempt. The thoughts and memories of what happened that day engorged all of them. Leaving them all something to wonder, giving Quillo a spooky story to tell his brothers, but all together none were too certain of the long term possibilities. All of the adults sat by the tree where the injured raccoon still slept several feet away.

Verne lightly scratched the back of his scaly head."She still may not survive, Despite what we've done."

Lou was quick to inject his own opinion on a more positive level."Oh come on now, Verne. We can't give up on the poor thing. I'm sure with some time she'll pull through." Penny nodded in agreement. "All she needs is a little rest and..and..Well what do you think, RJ?"

RJ looked over at the sleeping form by the tree and slightly shook his head. "I don't know. She looks pretty pitiful right now. We don't even know for how long she was down in that gutter, and things could have gotten worse."

"Until I found her, right RJ?" Hammy pied up from behind his friend as RJ looked down with an approving smile. "Thats right buddy. Who knows where she'd be without you." Tiger who was always keen to acts of bravery couldn't help but compliment the vibrant red squirrel. "A very noble thing you did, Hammy. In all my days I have never seen a better show of it." Of course Hammy's chest swelled with the praise. So much praise that he lost balance and fell over. This earned a few chuckles from the group. It was light hearted until Verne took the reins of the conversation back in his hands. "Well we won't know for sure until she actually recovers. And right now all we can do is wait." There was a somber silence, then Verne added. "Its just that-I've never seen anything like this before."

Lou set his paws on his hips and gave Verne a look. "When have any of us seen anything like this before, Verne?" Voices all started to come up in agreement to Lou's words. All except Ozzy who, unbeknown to the rest of the group seemed shift nervously in his place.

At that point it was settled. The family would take up the task and responsibility of saving this life. With winter close coming there was little chance she would survive the elements alone.

"I wonder what her name is?" said Hammy curiously. Verne found a nice spot in RJ's gift home where everyone else slept, using a bean bag as a pillow. "I'm sure she'll tell us when she wakes up. Just be patient."

"Be patient...I can do that!"

A Silence.

"So is it morning yet?"

"No Hammy. Go to sleep"

"Okay okay."

Verne started to snore.

"Uhm...is it morning yet?"

A disgruntled Verne opened his eyes and peered at the wide awake squirrel. "No Hammy, in a few hours, now goodnight."Hammy tried to sleep but couldn't. His mind was racing like wild fire.

"I hope she dosen't die."

As it turned out Verne was still awake, he whispered. "I hope not too, Hammy. We'll try our best to keep that from happening."

A/N: _Sorry about the wait. I'm a slow gal. I hope this ties you over until the next chapter! Thank you for all of your support and reviews._

_Oh and before you ask. Why would a man grill in the fall? Because he can thats why! _


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